Wordless Wednesday-Wide Awake!

Updates

This is going to be a quick post because, well. after 2 days of running, I am exhausted. I also have my first post-pregnancy migraine. I have issues with migraines except when I am pregnant, so I was wondering when I would get one.

I just wanted to give an Alex update as she had her 2 week check-up today. She is now a whopping 6 pounds, 1 ounce and 20 3/4 inches. The doctor said that her birth height could not have been 17 inches as there is no way that she gained 4 inches (they measured her twice today to be sure). The doctor is pleased with her progress. She has passed her birth weight which is what they like to see at 2 weeks.

Michael had his check-up as well. He is doing well too. We talked about his refusal to potty train. Our pediatrician said that this was obviously a case of him holding out and being stubborn (ya' think?). Her advice: IGNORE POTTY TRAINING! She said that he will pretty much wake up one morning and decide to do it, and that until then, just ignore the issue. We've tried just about everything-stickers, m & m's, praise, and he just won't do it (he totally gets it though). The older boys were pretty easy, both training at 3. Michael is now 4, and I am envisioning not being able to send him to school next year because of this. What do y'all think? When I told Andy what the doctor said, he wasn't too happy about ignoring this. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Back in the Swing of Things

Well, all good things must come to an end. Andy went back to work today which means it is now time to figure out my new normal with Alexandra and Michael. I have been kind of thrown back into things as I have a busier than normal schedule today and tomorrow.

We started out with Peter having to serve at 7:30 AM Mass. Andy took him and went to Mass before heading into work. Because of Peter's early start, I had to drive Drew to school this morning. I made myself a list of things that had to get done today so I could try to keep track of things. We had lunch duty up at school at 11, and things were fine until the last 20 minutes when baby girl got hungry. Luckily, I do lunch duty with some great mothers who took over for me so I could feed her. I am trying to rest a bit now while Alex does before we go up to school for soccer practice.

Tomorrow, I have check-ups for Alex and Michael as well as Michael's gymnastics class (Any guesses on how much Alex weighs now? She has the start of a very cute double chin!). I am really worn out right now. I am sure that as soon as Andy gets home the baby and I are going to lay down. Trying to pace myself and not get overwhelmed...

2 weeks old!

Recipe Swap Thursday

Looking for a new recipe? Share one and I will link you up here!

Sorry I am bit late in posting today-I forgot to pre-post last night!

Easy Pineapple Cheesecake

2 pkgs Ladyfingers
1 – 8 oz cream cheese
1 – 20 oz can crushed pineapple
1 – 16 oz Cool Whip

Place ladyfingers in bottom and sides of a 9” spring form pan. Drain pineapple, and blend with cream cheese and Cool Whip. Pour into pan. Chill well before serving.

Other Recipe Swap Participants:

Grace (Beyond the Black Stump): Colcannon

Meandering Meghan: Superb Hawaiian Brownies

Allison (Broken Fortress): Mom's Crunchy Cheesy Potatoes

Almost Wordless Wednesday

He's a great big brother, isn't he?

One Week Old!

Happy Birthday...

to me!

Wow! September is certainly getting loaded down with birthdays in my family! Michael is the 2nd, my baby girl, Alex is the 10th, I share a birthday with my niece (who is sweet 16 today!), and my mother-in-law and nephew are later this month.

Anyway, in honor of my 39th (ouch!) birthday, everyone enjoy the day!

What's in a name?

You all know now that we named our little girl Alexandra Marie. I thought I would tell the story of her name and nickname. Alexandra Marie was my Mom's name (for the record, Marie is also my mother-in-law's middle name, so she gets some credit too!). Of the 26 grandchildren on my side of the family, none carry any form of Mom's name. I always wanted an Alexandra, but Andy always wanted it for a middle name. I used to tease him that Mom was pulling strings up in Heaven, not giving us a daughter until he agreed on the name.

When I got pregnant this time, I pretty much had decided that the middle name would be Alexandra. About 4 months ago, Andy told me he wanted to name our daughter after Mom. The contingency was that we call her Alex for short. Seriously, I had to take a moment and tell him I need to pray about it because Alex was not my choice of a nickname. I did pray, and asked God to give me a sign.

Two days later, I went to get a haircut. The girl's name was "Misty", but knowing that stylists often use pseudonyms, I asked if it was her real name. Her response, "No, it's Alexandra, but my family calls me Alex." For some, this would have been enough. I still wasn't sure.

A few days later, I sat down to watch "Chopped" on Food Network. Again, I decided to put it to the test. If Alex Guarnischelli is one of the judges (she is one of my favorite chefs on the network), then I know it is meant to be. Of course, she was on. So silly, but I was pretty sure this was what we were meant to do.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I continued to see examples of women who went by Alex. See, this is what I like about my relationaship with God. I ask for a sign, and even after I am well convinced it is what I am supposed to do, He continues to drive the point home. God is so good!

I'm Here...Sort of!

I feel like it has been ages since I have been on here when in reality, it's only been a couple of days. I have been reading your posts, but have not been commenting much. We're a little overwhelmed here with getting used to have another member of the family, as well as the lack of sleep.

So, little Miss Alex is 5 days old. She is such a sweet baby! We took her in for a weight check yesterday, and she is only down 2 ounces. I was worrying because she still seemed sleepy-more so than the boys, but she seems to be waking more on her own rather than one of us needing to rouse her to eat. She is so alert when she is awake. I love to watch her taking in her surroundings!

Speaking of feeding, I have to admit that nursing did not work out. After about 18 hours in the hospital, we had to make a decision. Her blood sugar was falling, and she was frantically hungry and I had nothing-no colostrum, nothing. I shed many, many tears over this last Friday, but I know, in the end, we have made the right decision. Drew and Michael were such big babies that I would have felt comfortable waiting to see if anything came in if Alex had been as big as them, but after what I had gone through with Peter being so small at birth (4 pounds, 15 ounces), and now Alex, only one pound more, I was more concerned about her growing. As I said, after many, many tears, I have great peace in the decision we have made.

So, now, we are adjusting to our new life. Andy is home from work for 2 weeks, and is so helpful! He has been doing all of the running and shuttling of the boys to and from school, soccer practice and whatever else is going on. I am trying to rest when I can, although I am discovering that this is harder this time around with 3 boys who still need to know that their Mama is here for them.

Speaking of rest, I am off to catch some now before Alex wakes up to eat again!

Here she is!

Alexandra Marie was born at 6:14 PM on September 10. She weighs 5 pounds, 15 ounces and is 17.5 inches. We just came home, and are happy to be here!

Thanks for all of the prayers!

Almost time!

So, it is almost 11 PM my time. I still have not packed, but it should not take long. I have to be at the hospital at 6 AM, and cannot eat after midnight, so Andy just ran out to get me a burrito (one last treat!).

Thanks for all of the prayers and support, not just this week, but over the whole pregnancy. I was able to go to Confession this afternoon, and feel very prepared spiritually. I will be carrying your intentions with me tomorrow.

We most likely will not see baby until late, but will post when we can. Thanks for praying tomorrow. Please say an extra one for my boys. There were a few tears shed tonight by them because I was going to be leaving before they woke up. I have to admit that with them being older, it was a little harder to say good-bye tonight. We are hoping that Andy can bring them up to the hospital Friday morning so they can meet their sister before going to school. We really try to introduce them to their latest sibling when no one other than Andy and I are there so it can be just us.

Obviously, no recipe swap for tomorrow. Hopefully, next Thursday!

Thanks for everything! HUGS to you all!

Wordless Wednesday-Almost Big Brothers Again!

Thursday is the day!

I saw my OB today, and I will be reporting to the hospital at 6 AM Thursday for my induction. I know there were questions in my earlier post about why I am being induced, and I answered in the comments, but I will try to do it here. Please be kind in commenting-I am very hormonal right now! ;)

I have been induced twice before, so I do know what I am getting into. Peter's was for medical necessity (I had pre-eclampsia), and Drew was full-term and huge! I have to say that on a personal level, I do prefer induction as both were very positive experiences. That being said, I wouldn't just do it on a whim either.

I am GBS positive, and require antibiotics before giving birth for the safety of the baby. I went very quickly with Michael, and almost did not get the antibiotics in time. That alone is reason enough for me.

On a personal level, I have a really hard time trusting doctors. My OB knows this about me. He came in on his day off to deliver Michael so that I would not have to deal with a doctor I did not know. He told me today, that even though he was off, he watched the intakes all weekend because he was prepared to come in to deliver me if necessary (he really is a great guy!). This is his last day on overnight call before my due date next week, and he feels very comfortable with inducing me. As he says, conditions need to be "favorable" for him to induce, and they are.

So, on Thursday, I will be induced. I am really getting excited, and nervous at the same time (mainly about going from 3 to 4 kids!). Please pray for my family and I as we enter this new stage in our lives. The hospital has wifi, so some of you will be getting email from me, and there should be a post here Friday morning! God Bless you all, and thank you for the prayers!

Re-post: Labor Day Meme

I participated in this meme last year on Labor Day, and with my next babe coming soon, I though I would post it! Happy Labor Day, everyone! (and no, I am not in labor!) ;)

1. How long were your labors?
Peter-12 hours
Drew-8 hours
Michael-4 hours

With Peter and Drew, I was induced, so I have no idea how long an actual labor would have been.

2. How did you know you were in labor?

Again, with Peter and Drew, I was induced. With Michael, I was nervous because I had not gone into labor on my own. All I wanted was to get my oldest through his first 2 days of Kindergarten. About 30 minutes after picking Peter up on that second day (the Friday before labor day), my water broke.

3. Where did you deliver?

Hospital

4. Drugs?

YES! YES! AND YES! Although, I almost didn't get my epidural with Michael because he came so quickly.

5. C-section?

No, although I was about 30 seconds away from one with Drew. He was big, and his arm was stuck. Michael was breech until about 3 days before he was born. Thankfully, he turned.

6. Who delivered you?My OB, Michael Lasser. He is a fabulous doctor, and even came in on his day off to deliver Michael. I hope that he delivers any other children we are blessed with.

That's the whole meme. If you play along, please tell me. I would love to read it.

Important! Please read!

I just spoke with Evy (Gramma 2 Many). There are a couple of things I need to address. She is a real person, a very good friend, and excellent blogger (check her out!). I found out today that she has been sneakily emailing some of you about a bloggy baby shower. Those emails were, in fact, real (and VERY sweet, Evy!!!)

At some point today, her facebook account was hacked into which led to her email also being hijacked. Some of you may have received an email saying that she was in London, and needed money. This is in fact an email scam which you can read about here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jl1swzmUCchz3h7vGSDgztx78BdA

If you received one of these emails, please delete it immediately. Evy is not in London, she is at home, and definitely not looking for money. It doesn't appear to have a virus attached to it, however, you may want to run a virus scan just to be safe.

Sorry that this happened to Evy, and hopefully no one else got scammed either!

38 weeks!

I have now made it to 38 weeks. I am tired and uncomfortable, so this baby can come any time! I was at 1 cm at my appointment on Tuesday. Not very reassuring as I have literally walked around at 3 for weeks in prior pregnancies. The doctor said that baby is around 7 pounds at this point.

I have also made it through all that I wanted to accomplish. The older boys have started school, and Michael's birthday was yesterday. All I have to say is anytime now! Although, at this point, I am guessing that I will be induced next Thursday as planned.

Recipe Swap Thursday!

Because my lemon tree will be ready in the next month or so, I thought I would post my Lemon Supreme Pie Recipe. I found this on allrecipes.com, but it is actually a Taste of Home Recipe.

Lemon Supreme Pie

1 (9 inch) unbaked deep-dish pastry shell
LEMON FILLING:
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
4 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups whipped topping
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.
In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in water; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; add remaining sugar. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat; stir in butter, lemon peel and food coloring if desired. Gently stir in lemon juice (do not overmix). Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Do not stir.
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped topping and lemon juice. Refrigerate 1/2 cup for garnish. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture into shell; top with lemon filling. Chill overnight.
Place reserved cream cheese mixture in a pastry bag with a #21 star tip; pipe stars onto pie. Store in the refrigerator.

Now it's your turn! Simply post a recipe you want to share and leave a comment here, and I will link to you. All I ask is that you link back to me! Come back later today and see what everyone is sharing!!!

This week's participants:

Aussie Therese: Pasties

Nancy: Corn Casserole

Jillian:Pie Floater

Sydney: Turkey Burgers

Almost Wordless Wednesday-Happy 4th Birthday Michael!

Four years ago, he surprised us by making his entrance 16 days early.

He continues to surprise us every day!

We love you, Michael!

September 1

Here are pictures of the boys as I dropped them off this morning for their first day!

Peter was all ready for whatever 4th grade will hold!

This is Drew and his buddy, Alex. They are so excited to be in first grade!

On other fronts, I went to the OB this morning. I am at 1 cm (WOO-HOO). He said he'd see me in a week. I have a feeling I will make it to my induction on the 10th!

Thanks for all of the kind words last night/today. I am still a bit bummed about the job, but am choosing to focus on the kids, the impending arrival of the baby andthe fact that God knows what is best.